Drink, drugs and obesity: Britain's girls top the list

Teenage girls in this country are eating and drinking themselves into early graves.

Experts have warned that their habits will lead to years of poor health and diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Half of British 15-year-olds drink alcohol regularly, one in three has experimented with drugs and one in four smokes cigarettes.

Almost a third spend four hours a day slumped in front of the television. Rates of sexually transmitted diseases are also soaring.

The Economist Pocket World In Figures used World Health Organisation data to rank 15 countries in Europe and North America for teenage girls' health.

It found underage drinking to be highest among British girls, with 48 per cent drinking every week.

According to the Department of Health, their average weekly intake is almost ten units. Aunit is half a pint of beer, a small glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits.

Many teenagers go binge-drinktolding, consuming all the units over a weekend or in a single night.

As a result, doctors are already seeing cases of liver cirrhosis among people in their twenties.

They warn that teenagers who are drunk are also more likely to indulge in promiscuous behaviour.

One in seven sexually-active under-16-year- olds is infected with chlamydia, a leading cause of pelvic inflammatory disease.

An infection increases the risk of infertility and having a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.

Girls in Britain come third in the world for using cannabis, which is linked to mental illness and an increased risk of head, neck and lung cancers. Almost 32 per cent of 15-year-old girls admit to using cannabis in the past year.

British teenagers are also close to the top of the league table - after the U.S., Canada and Malta - for weight problems.

Nearly 37 per cent of 15-year-old girls consume soft drinks every day, increasing their sugar intake and adding to their waistlines.

Nearly 3 per cent are clinically obese. Obesity is known to cut seven years off a person's life.

Doctors have seen cases of weight-related diabetes - which usually develops in middle age or later - in children of 13. Diabetes raises the risk of heart disease.

The British Medical Association told the Government last year that swift and drastic action was needed to safeguard teen health.

A White Paper on public health is due to be published this autumn, but there are already fears that it will lack the necessary clout to protect today's children.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, of the British Medical Association, said: "These figures are very worrying and we need to see action right across Government departments to tackle the problems.

"We talk about children living in an "obesogenic" environment, where they do little exercise and are tempted to eat sweet and fatty foods.

"We are particularly worried about the drinking issue, because it seems that children are bingedrinking. It is not surprising that doctors are seeing severe liver damage in patients in their twentiesas a result." Dr John Tripp, consultant paediatrician in Exeter and senior lecturer in child health at the Peninsula Medical School, said teenage girls did not set out to take health risks, but were often more concerned with maintaining the respect of their peers.

"Losing the respect of your peers is immediate, but the health risks are somewhere in the distance," he said.

He said there was not enough research into how to get teenagers to change, but the Government's consultation was 'encouraging'.

"When people are drunk they take other risks. Young people with one type of risk-taking behaviour are more likely to take others because they are operating in a culture of risk-taking - be it drugs or sex. They all tend to follow one another."

A Department of Health spokesman said childhood obesity and alcohol consumption were raised during the consultation. "We are taking these concerns seriously," he said. "The White Paper will tackle these issues."

Measures have already begun in some areas. Stephanie Wright, 15 , from East London, has been overweight most of her life and was taunted and bullied about her size. Depressed, she ate even more, seeking solace in a diet of hamburgers, crisps and biscuits. But she sought expert help. She now visits a dietician regularly and attends sports clubs run by a weight clinic for children. She says it has given her a new lease of life.

"I even like vegetables, when I wouldn't touch them before," she said. "I eat a lot less chocolate, but it can be hard because my friends still eat it. I set myself small goals and I feel good about losing weight."